


Oh, Little Red

by promiscuousceilingtiles



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Inspired by Music, haha oops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-04-01 23:48:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4039324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/promiscuousceilingtiles/pseuds/promiscuousceilingtiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's seen people like this before. Stony demeanors and cold words that hit you in the face like a slap. But they were all so easy to get by. What makes this one any different?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Watch it Grow, Child of Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic that I plan on making pretty long, and it's also heavily inspired by music (not a songfic). I hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading.
> 
> P.S - Everyone in this is really, really gay.

Aela shivers in the cold wind of the Rift. It's mildly chilly, and her armour does nothing to help. She casts a glance to the elf standing next to her, her face masked by a veil of chainmail.  
'Are you sure this is wise?' the woman asks slowly, looking back toward the cave in front of her. Two braziers border either side of the mouth.  
'The right thing is not always the wise thing,' Valyrn replies simply, trekking forward into the depth of black. Aela just shakes her head and trails behind.  
The cave is not really a cave at all. There is a single moment of claustrophobic fear that grips at Valyrn as stone looms overhead, but it soon slips away as the rock opens up into a snow-worn path.  
'Marvellous. This stuff is like the plague,' Aela grumbles behind her as she lifts her knees above the white. Valyrn just raises one of her brows and continues through the snow like it isn't even there.  
'Slow down, try hard,' the other woman calls after her and Valyrn can't help but smile. She manages to stifle the laugh, though, and turns around slightly.  
'Would you keep your voice down? It's miraculous the whole fort hasn't heard you by now,' the elf scolds. Aela throws her a glare, and they continue on.  
Just as they crest the last hill, a scene plays out in front of them. Slushy water flows into a frozen lake beneath the cascade, and birds sing and chirp as they play in the leaves. In all honesty, it is quite a beautiful place.  
Valyrn struggles to keep her footing as she walks slowly down the hill, and she feels Aela's hand on her shoulder.  
'Steady there,' Aela says softly, and at that Valyrn just frowns. She also rolls her eyes at Aela's constant need to baby her.  
'I am fine,' Valyrn replies sharply, walking on at a brisker pace. They reach the bottom of the steep hill, only to be interrupted by a young voice.  
'Oh, hey there! You here to join the Dawnguard too?' the voice calls. It's a boy, and he looks nervously between the two women. Aela scowls and Valyrn simply glances at the boy.  
'Yes,' they both say in unison, though Aela says it a little quieter, less sure.  
'The, uhh, the truth is, I'm a little nervous. I've never done something like this before,' Aela rolls her eyes then, almost failing to stifle a laugh.  
'Hey, uhh, don't tell Isran I was nervous to come and meet him. Not a good fir-'  
'For the love of Hirci-'  
Valyrn hisses and shoots Aela a sharp look, and the woman immediately stops. The young boy looks startled, and for the rest of their walk he remains silent.  
Mostly.  
'Wow. Fort Dawnguard. It's bigger than I expected, where is everybody?' he asks in wonder, staring around at the stone walls. Valyrn frowns.  
'It is remarkably... empty,' she decides, looking quizzically at Aela. The Nord just shakes her head in an “I-told-you-so” manner. Valyrn smiles as fondly as she can manage and continues through the “courtyard”.  
Grey, dull stone arches and curves into towers and walkways. It's all very unnecessarily large and extravagant for a group of prestigious vampire hunters. There's an Orc, the same one that approached herself and Aela in Windhelm, firing off an odd, hand-held bow of sorts.  
'Well, here we are. Wish me luck,' the chatty Nord smiles (strains) at the two women and continues up to the huge doors himself.  
'Does he think we're not going in either?' Aela chuckles, shaking her head slighlty.  
'He is mistaken,' Valyrn answers, walking determinedly toward the stairs.  
Aela just sighs resignedly.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

She's suffocating, she's sure of it.  
She's been sure of it for as long as she can remember.  
But there are new smells in the air of the dark cave. They've been passing through for at least two days now.  
The first smell was that of her father's blood, passed on to other's of his court.  
The latest smell is of wood-smoke and fur.  
She tries, in vain, to move her arms again, but her mother must have used some sort of paralysis spell. Over the past hour, the smell of fur has been getting stronger and now it feels like it's overwhelming her. The chatter from her father's subjects is increasing, and before long its full blown shouts of battle. There's a commanding, rough voice mixed in there somewhere, accompanied by a shriller but still as gruff one. She can only imagine they are the sources of the smell of fur.  
It dies down, only the harsh voices remain and she begins to panic internally.  
_Are they here for her?_  
 _Are they going to kill her on the spot?_  
It might as well be a kennel with the smell, and its probably due to the two unknowns being extremely close to he-  
' _Fuck_!'  
She freezes.  
Well, she's already frozen, but...  
There's a deep rumbling all around her and she knows, she just knows, they're going to find her.  
She doesn't know if that's good, or bad.  
'This definitely looks like necromancy,' the more commanding voice identifies.  
'Look, at the braziers, it's obvious,' is the shriller voice's reply.  
It's interesting listening to them, at least. They don't sound stupid.  
'Aela, help me, for the sake of Hircine,' the words from the less gruff voice chill her. Hircine.  
They're of wolf blood.  
She shudders as she feels herself rising and can only imagine that her death is seconds away. What a way to go out, at least.  
She falls forward as soon as the stone slides away.  
Instead of being mauled to death, she finds herself surrounded by metal plated arms and she looks up to see a face veiled by chain and what looks like bone.  
The eyes are a deep amber.  
'It's a woman,' says a Nord she presumes to be the one referred to as Aela.  
The woman holding her shoots the Nord a hard look.  
She pulls herself up and away from the woman, who quickly steps back like she just touched fire.  
Aela hits her in the side and she starts.  
'Showing your face is common courtesy, hard head,' she whispers into her ear. The woman's brows furrow, but she removes her helmet anyway.  
What follows is one of the sharpest faces she has seen in a while, even if the woman is elvish.  
Her cheekbones look like they were chiselled from stone, and her amber eyes are shrouded in two dark, cloudy blotches.  
She swallows slightly to compose herself.  
'Who... Who sent you?' she manages to croak out, chalking it up to years of not speaking.  
'A man named Isran. Who were you expecting?' the elf demands, looking her up and down.  
'I... Someone like me, at least,' she makes her point by sniffing the air, and she hears a deep snarl from the Nord.  
This likely won't end well, she sighs.  
But the elf just raises an eyebrow and hushes her companion.  
'What's your name?' she asks coldly, but there doesn't seem to be any bite to her tone.  
'I'd feel more comfortable if I knew why you were here,' she replies, gauging whether either of them would answer by their facial expressions. The Nord's eyebrows are drawn into a frown, and the elf's face remains impassive.  
'Look, I just... I just need to get home. Help me, please?' she feels kind of pathetic begging, but it's a last ditch effort. The woman finally switches from a stony, unreadable expression to a half scowl.  
She jerks her head in a sort of “come with me” motion, and she can't help but follow the pair, because really, where else has she got to go?  
'My name is Serana... by the way,' Serana offers from the back of the group, trying to keep pace. She can just see the corner of the elf's lip quirk in a soft smile and Aela's frown deepen.  
'Valyrn,' the el-... Valyrn replies quietly over her shoulder.  
Serana thinks its a pretty enough name.


	2. You're Crooked, Too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter isn't really a plot-progression so much as a character progression and I'm planning to make the next chapter waaayy longer.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.

* * *

 

'It feels so good to breathe again,' Serana sighs out, and Valyrn shoots a confused glance between her and the other woman. Aela just shakes her head, as if the stubborn elf couldn't grasp the concept of “frozen-in-time”. She decides to speak up and save the elf the trouble of embarrassing herself.  
'Alright, princess, where are we headed?' she asked gruffly, looking at the vampire.  
She still couldn't believe that. Valyrn had just agreed, _just went quietly,_ on the subject. It had to be the most ridiculous recipe for disaster, werewolves travelling with a vampire, travelling to said vampire's _nest_.  
'Oh, uhm... A castle, just off the coast of Solitude,' she replies confidently, but Aela can hear the uncertainty in her voice.  
So, apparently, can Valyrn.  
'Grand. She doesn't even know where we're taking her,' the elf huffs out, making to move forward, Aela snorts, and she can feel the glare of their new companion on her back. She smirks, and turns towards the vampire, walking backwards.  
'So, what's that on your back?' she asks, smiling smugly as the woman frowns.  
'It's an Elder Scroll, and it's _mine_ ,' she replies vehemently.  
'Is it fragile?' she taunts, and hears Valyrn pipe up from ahead of them.  
'Do we need to protect it?' Serana grumbles at this, but there's a faint tinge of red to her cheeks and Aela narrows her eyes. She rights her self and walks on, though she carefully watches the vampire after that.

'How long were you locked away for?' Valyrn asks carefully, a slight frown gracing her features.  
'I don't know. Who's Skyrim's high king?' is the question fired back at her, and Valyrn quirks an eyebrow at Aela.  
'That's a matter up for... debate,' Aela replies dryly, continuing their trek. Serana furrows her brow.  
'Debate? Debate between who?' the vampire counters, glancing between the two women and waiting for her answer.  
'Between the rebel Stormcloaks, and the Empire,' the pair say in unison, one smirking at the other. Light snow begins to fall as they continue west, and Serana shudders.  
'An Empire? There's an Empire?' she asks incredulously, her brow dipping even further.  
'Yes... The Empire...,' Aela starts.  
'In Cyrodiil?' Valyrn finishes, sending a worried look to her companion.   
'Cyrdodiil? Is the seat of an _empire?_ I... I was gone longer than a thought. Please, we have to hurry,' Serana cuts them off, power walking forward through the snow.  
'She's certainly got some willpower,' Valyrn notes, watching the vampire stalk forward.  
Aela frowns and shoves the wood elf.  
Sometime during their walk, the vampire leans and braces herself against the rock of a cave mouth, shuddering harshly.  
'Sun finally getting to you, _mygg_?' Aela calls, and while Valyrn doesn't entirely understand the Nordic word, she still gives the woman a sharp elbow in the side. The elf walks toward the vampiress, her brow furrowed slightly.   
'Can you stand, or d-'  
'I'm...  _fine_ ,' Serana snaps out, gritting her teeth and pulling herself to a stand. She wavers on her legs before sliding back against the rock.

Within seconds, they are all piled into a dingy cave.  
'I'm not changing my sleep schedule for some woman we just met,' Aela all but shouts, her face twisted angrily. Valyrn looks much the same.  
'We aren't going to _get_ anywhere if we don't,' she counters, getting right up in Aela's face. It's silent for a while, and Serana watches as a minute passes. Then two. Neither woman has moved.  
Finally, the Nord lets out something like a low growl, and stalks backwards. Valyrn turns to her abruptly.  
'We sleep here,' she states, plainly and simply.  
'What?'  
It's the second time the words out of her mouth have sounded “incredulous”.  
'See! Even she doesn-'  
A pointed glare silences the Nord's words immediately. They both grumble as the Bosmer unpacks the bed rolls.

* * *

She awakens to the sound of rain slushing into dirty snow. There's rock overhead, but it's not as close, and she can actually hear the outside world. Serana has no idea where she is, only that it's warm and feels somewhat safe. She sits up in what she has decided is a cave and looks around it. There's a goatskin covering her and the cave is small, very small. Her legs are still shaky and sore. She sees the two figures, on the ground, one in a fitful sleep and the other with her hand firmly on her companion's back. Serana raises an eyebrow, and then she starts remembering. She _was_ underground, but not here. And she remembers the two women's names.

Aela and...  
Valyrn, was it?  
'What an odd name...' she mutters under her breath.  
She flinches as the pair stir, Valyrn getting up far faster than the Nord, with a glance and a nod in her direction. She's already packing away her bed roll when Aela finally sits up.  
'Morning,' Serana greets, an attempt at some civil conversation.  
'It's night,' Aela replies snarkily and shakes her head.  
She sees, out of the corner of her eye, Valyrn offer her a small smile.  
When she turns to look, it's gone. Like it was never there.  
'Get up, you two lie-abouts. We haven't got long to go,' the elf manages out in a raspy voice. Aela stands at that order, rolling her own bedding up. Valyrn wanders towards her, and Serana preoccupies herself with picking at the hay beneath her.  
'Are you okay to walk?' the woman asks, frowning down at her. Serana scowls back.  
'I don't want help,' she growls, bracing her hands against the rock wall and only managing to pull herself up to a half stand.  
'You may not want my help,' Valyrn replies calmly, gripping the vampire's forearm with her hand, 'but you need it.'  
The elf walks away toward her companion, berating her for not "rolling the bed the right way".  
She grumbles after she's pulled up and flushes slightly.  
Serana finds she is doing a lot of these two things since she's woken.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a bit of creative license and decided that the Nords speak Norwegian, so I'll put any translations when I use it in this story (which might be often).
> 
> mygg - mosquito


End file.
